It is difficult to link the falling share price to the news that have been clearly positive. I would rather assume the falling share price is due to investors selling on good news, as bank shares have soared over the past months, said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, equity strategist at Postbank.

It seems that while we may be heading out of a recession, the pace of recovery may be sluggish at best, and we could well see more profit-taking on the horizon, said Tim Hughes, head of sales trading at IG Index, in London.

FIAT DROPS, TELCOS GAIN

The DJ STOXX European Auto Index .SXAP was the biggest sectoral decliner, down 2.2 percent.

Peugeot (PEUP.PA) said third-quarter revenue slowed less sharply than in previous quarters, but analysts at Morgan Stanley analysts said sales were still disappointing. Shares in the company fell 5.9 percent.

What we have today is a revenue disappointment and no obvious sign of the large production re-ramp that many have anticipated, Morgan Stanley analysts said.

Fiat (FIA.MI) also dropped, down 3.5 percent after the company reported a better-than-expected third-quarter trading profit but said it might write off past investments.

European computer chip maker STMicroelectronics (STM.PA) fell 4.6 percent after it posted its seventh consecutive quarterly loss, but its revenue and outlook topped expectations and bolstered hopes the semiconductor industry was on the rebound. [ID:nN20458533]